TATAKalikasan: Gross National Happiness (GNH) - New Measure of Growth and Development

Lesson on TATAKalikasan, Ateneo de Manila University

87.9 FM Radyo Katipunan,  Every Thursday, 11 to 12 a.m.

                     Gross National Happiness (GNH)

- New Measure of Growth and Development

Dr Abe V Rotor*

----------------------------------------------------

 LESSON: Relate GNH with GNP and HDI, in essay on one short bond, handwritten. What has this knowledge and awareness to do with communications? To your career in media?
-------------------------------------------
Have you heard of a measure of growth and development based on people's happiness? 

Well, it is called Gross National Happiness (GNH) by Bhutan, the proponent of the idea.   It is more than people's welfare which is the aim of Human Development Index (HDI).  And it is a radical alternative to Gross National Product (GNP) which is a broad and unqualified gross measure of a country's economic growth.  

The illustrate, if a country's GNP is 10 percent - which is quite high - to what extent does this annual gain contribute to people's well-being in terms of health, education, income, housing, and the like which constitute HDI?  Then we ask, in what way and to what extent does this material gain and social welfare make people happy? (GNH)  

PHOTOS: Award winning DZRB staff; 

happy couple in a market stall

Bhutan's bold attempt to quantify national well-being and achieve sustainable

development (Gross National Happiness Index) is opening the eyes of the world to the paradox that rising incomes doesn't bring happiness (Easterlin Paradox, named for American economist Richard Easterlin).  

This is a long known fact but it was shrouded by an apparently progressive capitalistic world  in the last three decades - until recently – when economic crisis gripped the most progressive countries led by the US and members of the European Union, now affecting other countries, among them the Philippines. 

The paradox is steadily being felt in China as it replaced Japan as the second biggest economy of the world. And the new tiger economies as well -  Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, including India which is an upcoming technology giant.  

Unhappiness has been the cause of depression, and depression often leads to self-destruction. 

Rising incomes, if taken as an analogy to Easterlin Paradox, increases the rate of depression and therefore, suicide.  Thus the highest rate of suicide in the world has been observed in highly industrialized countries like Japan, the US and UK, with victims that include young men and women in the prime of their careers, and set to "conquer the world" but have failed to meet their aspirations.

GNH is a Eastern alternative to pressures of the materialistic Western world. The new measure aims at reducing pressure of living on the fast lane. It reduces the influx to cities and consequential buildup of urban marginal communities. It holds on to time-tested, community-based living. It is an alternative to a stressful life, and pressures of competition.  

To make GNH workable, Bhutan is adopting a program based on four pillars, namely

• sustainable economic development
• conservation of the environment
• preservation of culture
• good governance

PHOTOS: Picking rambutan, QC; author with children hike 

on Mt Makiling, UPLB; Filipiniana dance (SPU-QC); campus 

parade (UST);  playing sungka, a traditional game.

Since 1989 after the dissolution of the USSR liberating former member-nations to self-rule, and the termination of the Cold War that polarized the world into two ideologies - democracy and socialism, the world unfortunately has not devised a formula to equate prosperity with happiness. 

What is happiness sought for by a people, by a nation or region? It is really more than material benefit.  It is more than growth of institutions. of high rise buildings and wide avenues. It is something that elevates the human spirit on a higher level, albeit religiosity.  It is something that speaks of now and tomorrow, of the welfare of our children and children's children. 

Translated to the individual person, happiness may be gauged by his answers to these simple questions often encountered in daily living.

• "How many people can you count on for help in case you get sick?" 
• "How often do you eat meals together as a family?"
• "How restful can you be after a weekend?"
• "How comfortable are you with the level of household debt?"
• "How satisfied are you in your present work.?"
• "How often do to take time out with the kids?"
• "How comfortable are you at home? In the neighborhood?"
• "How secure are you with your income?  Savings?"
• "How fulfilled are you your career? Livelihood?  Vocation?"  
• "How satisfied are you with you community's governance?" 
•  "How satisfied are you in sharing your talents and resources?  
•  "How well preserved is your natural environment?  

Maybe we might as well ask

• "How happy did you feel yesterday?"
• "How satisfied are you with life today.?

These are sample questions raised in surveys conducted in Bhutan and other countries . The results differ of course. Except Bhutan, the result of the survey may be summarized as "Most people feel disconnected from the dominant economic indicators." 

PHOTOS: Author's family celebrates a birthday; bayanihan spirit in fishing; below,

author and students at UST.

Bhutan's vision of happiness has nine components, namely    

• Psychological Well-being 
• Health
• Time Use
• Education
• Cultural Diversity and Resilience
• Good governance 
• Community Vitality
• Ecological Diversity and Resilience
• Living Standards                 

Which leads us to analyze the current and past unrest in many parts of the world, their causes and effects.

• Global Oil Crisis
• Economic Inflation 
• Russian War on Ukraine
• Global Warming 
• Drugs and drug-related crimes
• Influx of refugees 
• Arab Spring in the Middle East 
• Occupy Wall Street in the US
• Protest in Peru
• Shooting on US schools
• Afghanistan crisis
• Israel-Palestine conflict
• People's protests in Peru, Russia, Tel-Aviv, and elsewhere in the world are traced to human's unfulfilled goal of happiness.  

Latest News: The world is facing an unprecedented rise in civil unrest as governments of all stripes grapple with the impacts of inflation on the price of staple foods and energy, according to the latest edition of our Civil Unrest Index (CUI). The data, covering seven years, shows that the last quarter saw more countries witness an increase in risks from civil unrest than at any time since the Index was released. Out of 198 countries, 101 saw an increase in risk, compared with only 42 where the risk decreased. The impact is evident across the globe, with popular discontent over rising living costs emerging on the streets of developed and emerging markets alike, stretching from the EU, Sri Lanka and Peru to Kenya, Ecuador and Iran. As the conditions for civil unrest build in a growing number of countries, the severity and frequency of protests and labor activism is set to accelerate further over the coming months. Internet

Never has the issue of happiness, originally too personal and private and subjective, been brought out into a world forum likely to escalate into global referendum. And it took a new democracy (Bhutan) with less than a million people perched on the Himalayas to herald what makes a beautiful life - happiness. ~  

Reference: Time October 22, 2012 The Pursuit of Happiness

Retired professor in DevCom, UST-Graduate School and Faculty of Arts and Letters,  DevCom Lesson 1 Nov 19 2013 

Lesson on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio 
738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 Evening Class, Monday to Friday